Art league showcases members

Published 9:21 pm Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Julia Avery Muse, left, and her friend Maxine Singleton look at Muse’s work on display at the Suffolk Art Gallery as part of the Suffolk Art League’s annual Open Members’ Show. The show will be on display through July 18.

Julia Avery Muse, left, and her friend Maxine Singleton look at Muse’s work on display at the Suffolk Art Gallery as part of the Suffolk Art League’s annual Open Members’ Show. The show will be on display through July 18.

The most inclusive art event in Suffolk is in full swing at the Suffolk Art Gallery.

The Suffolk Art League’s annual Open Members’ Show will be on exhibit through July 18. Featuring 79 artists ranging from amateurs and hobbyists to professionals, the show is always an exciting time of year, art league executive director Linda Bunch said.

“This show is always fun, because you have the really experienced artists hanging next to the person who just started taking classes,” Bunch said. “It makes it fun.”

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The show includes more than 140 pieces. It is open to all members of the art league on a first-come, first-served basis.

“We really try not to turn anybody away,” Bunch said, noting some paintings are hung two or three high to fit them all in. “This is just our show to show off our member artists.”

The show isn’t judged or juried, so it takes away some of the pressure from less-experienced artists, Bunch said. It also allows emerging artists the experience of preparing work for exhibitions.

The range of media, styles and subjects provides something for every taste. There are wood carvings, clay art, sculptures and mixed-media work in addition to the more traditional watercolor paintings.

The artists, while all members of the Suffolk Art League, are from all over the greater Hampton Roads area, from Williamsburg to Virginia Beach to Courtland, and even into northeastern North Carolina.

The art gallery is located at 118 Bosley Ave. and is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Call the art league at 925-0448 or the gallery at 514-7284 for more information.